LONDON, June 27, 2026, 19:10 BST
- Tesco closed Friday at 459.90p, up 1.08%. LSE/FTSE Russell data showed Tesco’s shares gained 4.33% for the week, outpacing the FTSE 350 by 3.1 points.
- Tesco’s sales growth came in at 1.2% for the 12 weeks to June 14, according to Worldpanel. The group’s market share slipped by 10 basis points in the period.
- Tesco had spent £421.9 million of its £750 million buyback program after buying back shares on June 25. The 9.7p final dividend was paid out on June 26.
Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) ended Friday at 459.90p, up 4.90p, or 1.08%. London equities are closed for the weekend. The last trade in Tesco shares was at 16:38 BST on June 26. The FTSE 100 fell 0.21% for the session, Hargreaves Lansdown data showed.
Tesco ended the week up 4.33%, according to London Stock Exchange/FTSE Russell data, topping the FTSE 350 by 3.1 points for the period. Year to date, Tesco is up 4.10%, but that trails the FTSE 350 by 1.4 points. The difference stands out for a stock bought as a defensive play, not for value recovery.
Tesco traded at 460p in the LSE/FTSE Russell report, off 8.2% from the 52-week high but still up 16.2% from the low. The relative strength index came in at 52.41. Shares sat near their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The chart did not show a crowded long by that signal.
Tesco kept up its buyback pace this week. In a June 26 RNS, the company said it bought 5 million shares the day before at 457.15p on average. That brings the tally for the current round to 92.644 million shares since April 22, for a total spend of £421.9 million. Its blended cost is 455.4p, just under 1% below Friday’s close by the RNS math.
Tesco’s last two RNS filings showed 6 million shares bought June 23 at 444.56p and 5 million more June 24 at 448.25p. Altogether, the retailer bought back 16 million shares over those three sessions, spending roughly £71.9 million.
The buyback so far is about 1.5% of the current shares and matches 1.5% of Hargreaves Lansdown’s £28.79 billion market cap. If Tesco completes the planned £750 million buyback, that would add up to around 2.6% of the market value. Tesco paid its 9.7p final dividend on June 26. HL and LSE/FTSE Russell put the trailing dividend yield at 3.15%.
UK grocery data pointed to softer demand. Worldpanel by Numerator reported inflation in grocery prices slowed to 3.0% in the four weeks to June 14. Sales volumes dropped after accounting for inflation. Promotions drove 30.4% of sales. Tesco’s growth in the 12 weeks to June 14 came in at 1.2%, while its market share slipped 10 basis points.
Tesco posted first-quarter numbers on June 18, with UK like-for-like sales up 1.8% for the 13 weeks to May 30, missing the 2.3% average analyst call. The company left full-year adjusted operating profit guidance steady at £3.0 billion to £3.3 billion. CEO Ken Murphy told Reuters he wouldn’t read “too much” into the softer growth. Charles Stanley’s Garry White said the flat guidance “should reassure investors”. Reuters
Sainsbury’s PLC (LON:SBRY) sales climbed 2.0% in the Worldpanel period and its market share gained 10 basis points. Lidl GB sales increased 8.6%. Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) sales jumped 13.5%. Asda kept losing share. The competitive data looks mixed, not soft.
Tesco kept up its focus on price and range. The Guardian said Tesco took its Aldi price-match to more than 2,000 Express shops and added 520 new items. CEO Murphy commented football was a help, but “The weather effect is the big difference.” The Guardian
Tesco’s valuation is tighter. LSE/FTSE Russell shows the stock at 15.0 times trailing earnings and 2.6 times book value, both running above five-year medians of 11.4 and 1.7. Free cash flow yield comes in at 3.64%, much lower than the five-year median of 8.02%.
Tesco doesn’t have a trading statement set for next week on the main calendar. Fidelity says the next half-yearly report is due in October 2026. Updates in the company feed will probably be buyback RNS filings or pricing news, not a full update.
